Úthlíð Cottages and Travel Service

Catch the rainbow

Úthlíð is a rare gem to be found in largely unspoiled Icelandic landscape. It is located centrally from most key locations, only an hour drive from Reykjavik, 25 min from the national park of Þingvellir, 10 min from the famous Geysir hot springs and only 15 min from Gullfoss.

Tour Operators

Jet boating is a safe and exhilarating activity for all ages. The spectacular boat trip offer shallow deltas, deep lava canyons and white water rapids. Come aboard, take a seat and discover one of Iceland's most amazing sceneries.

Geothermal baths

Laugarvatn Fontana goals are to operate a wellness centre and nature bath that is based on the region's long tradition of hot spring bathing and respects Laugarvatn's nature and history. Laugarvatn FONTANA will revolutionize the Icelandic spa experience, based on the uniqueness of the location and its naturally occurring combination of nature, water and steam

Farm Holidays

Efsti-Dalur 2 is a well located cattle farm, close to many of the most popular natural wonders of Iceland. We emphasise personal service, good food, friendly faces, comfortable atmosphere and lovely surroundings.

Hotels

The Geysir-Center, which is directly opposite the geothermal area of Geysir and Strokkur, consists of a whole building complex with elegant restaurant, hotel, swimming pool, souvenir shop, snack shop, Geysir museum with multimedia show, horse rental and camping area.

Nature

Bruarhlod (Brúarhlöð) is a narrow gorge in Hvitá River about three kilometers south of the Golden Waterfalls (Gullfoss). Through the centuries the river has formed the rocks in to beautiful pillars and formations. The name of the rocks is Breccias (Hyaloclastite).

Just above Bruarhlod is a bridge over the river, which was built 1959 after the first two bridges washed away, the first one in 1929, and the second one in 1930. When driving over the bridge we can only imagine the forces needed to wash away a bridge in that size.

Hvita River is a popular place for river rafting and to raft through Bruarhlod is adventure that is difficult to describe with words. Travelers should make a note to stop at Bruarhlod, view the magnificent nature and the rock formations.

Nature

One of the greatest natural attractions of Iceland and part of the famous "Golden Circle Tour", The Great Geysir, or Stori-Geysir, has been dormant since 1916 when it suddenly ceased to spout. It came to life only once in 1935, and as quickly went back to sleep. Since then its repose has sporadically been disturbed by the dumping of tons of carbolic soap powder into its seething orifice in order to tickle it to spout. It is not exactly known when Geysir was created. It is believed that it came into existence around the end of the 13th century when a series of strong earthquakes, accompanied by a devastating eruption of Mt. Hekla, hit Haukadalur, the geothermal valley where Geysir is located. What is known is that it spouted regularly every third hour or so up to the beginning of the 19th century and thereafter progressively at much longer intervals until it completely stopped in 1916. Whether its silence is eternal or temporary no one knows. When it was alive and shooting, it could thunderously blast a spectacular jet of superheated water and steam into the air as high as 60 to 80 meters according to different sources. Its opening is 18 meters wide and its chamber 20 meters deep. One reason for cessation is believed to be the accumulated rocks and foreign objects thrown into it by thousands of tourists throughout the years. Though definitely damaging, this however could not be the only reason for its dormancy. The Great Geysir was among the most notable geysers in the world, such as those in Yellowstone Park, New Zealand and North Iceland. The English word "geyser" is derived from the Icelandic word "geysir" which means gusher. Though the Great Geysir itself is now more or less inactive, the area surrounding it is geothermically very active with many smaller hot springs. The attraction of the area is now Strokkur (The Churn), another geyser 100 meters south of the Great Geysir, which erupts at regular intervals every 10 minutes or so and its white column of boiling water can reach as high as 30 meters. The whole area is a geothermal park sitting on top of a vast boiling cauldron. Belching sulphurous mud pots of unusual colors, hissing steam vents, hot and cold springs, warm streams, and primitive plants can all be found here. A short distance away to the west stands the small Laugarfjall Mountain with a panoramic view overlooking the Geysir area. King Christian IX of Denmark visited the area in 1874 and by the foot of the mountain are the rocks where he leaned while his hosts tried to impress and amuse him by boiling eggs in the hot springs. The rocks are now called Konungssteinar ("The King's Stones").

Nature

Nature

Gullfoss is actually two separate waterfalls, the upper one has a drop of 11 metres and the lower one 21 metres. The rock of the river bed was formed during an interglacial period.

Water flows over Gullfoss at an average rate of 109 cubic metres per second. The heaviest floods have recorded a flow of 2000 cubic metres per second. During the summer the flow is 130 cubic metres per second, which would take only 3 seconds to fill this building. People were eager to exploit the power potential of Gullfoss and many plans for hydroelectric developments on the river Hvítá have been proposed.

South Iceland

Towns & Villages

The south of Iceland has several towns and villages, each with its own style, charm and points of interest. Selfoss is the largest town and has a variety of shops, services, many restaurants and fast food places. Most towns are close to the main route, making them accessible and enjoyable.

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Safe travel in Iceland

To make travel in Iceland safer - for your safe returnSafetravel.is is run by ICE-SAR and is part of a bigger project, simply named Safetravel. In that project a number of companies, public institutions and individuals join hands and the goal is to lower the rate of accidents in travel and tourism in Iceland.

The 112 Iceland app can be used for two things, both for added safety on your Iceland trip. First of all you can call for help by pressing the red Emergency button. Your location will be sent by text message to the 112 response center. Remember that even though your phone shows no signal there is a possibility that you can send text message.

The green Check In button is for you to leave your location with us so if something happens we have more information to work with. Only the 5 last locations are stored and we recommend you use this – don’t worry – you are not disturbing anyone – except for our big computer who wants to be disturbed.

On Safetravel.is you can find extensive amount of information which can help you plan your travel to and around Iceland in more safe and secure way.

Local time and weather

Aurora forecast

When to see the Northern Lights in Iceland? The best time is between 21:00-03:00 although they can often be seen early evening or during the night. The official Northern Lights season in Iceland is from October till March. The more activity the more likely it is that you will see the northern lights but that is not all. There is never a guarantee of spotting the northern lights, but northern lights forecast by vedur.is are good. Clear skies are necessary, when we have clear skies in Iceland It is usually cold. So be sure to wear the right clothing.Northern Lights Forecast The Icelandic Met Office does Northern Lights Forecast which is good to use. Visit the Icelandic Met Office www.vedur.is, for more info.

Driving in Iceland

Always check the road conditionsThe weather is not the same in different regions of Iceland. Here below are good websites to use when traveling in Iceland in winter. Vedur.is is the official website for weather in Iceland. But it doesn’t always give the right picture road.is, the website for the Icelandic Road Administration, is the best website to use if you use it right.If you are unsure then you can call 1777 and ask for the conditions (open 06:30-22:00) or 1778 an automatic telephone service open all day.

Driving in Iceland can be tricky - but if you listen carefully to Elfis you should be fine.